


The State of Jonerys

by orphan_account



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Gen, My two cents even though nobody asked for it, Procrastinating, Shipping, Whinging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 18:55:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20262904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: There’s been some divisive stories as of late...





	The State of Jonerys

I wanted to write to address an influx of divisive stories (and cause I’m procrastinating on my stories) that have come up in the tag as of late or just post season 8 in general. I would hope most people aren’t still reeling from season 8 as three months have passed though I do understand if people are still angry as I imagine those of us who read or write Jonerys fan fiction were very much invested in the ending.

I’ve come to accept that Jon Snow murdered his aunt/lover/queen in the show and that will also happen in the books, the rationalization of it doesn’t really matter to me. I’m not of these people that subscribe to the idea that the story could have been done better (though that’s obvious) but I completely reject that ending but it is GRRM’s characters so it doesn’t really matter at the end of the day as well as these are fictional characters.

Though it seems many of the divisive stories that have been written post season 8 involve a brooding and broken Jon Snow, dues ex machina Kinvara, a resurrected Daenerys, and Daario or Yara acting as plot devices to serve as angst. Sometimes it’s Dany having a prophetic dream and giving her a do over from S7-S8, though I don’t completely reject the tropes it’s just the stories have become redundant and when you read multiple fics with the same parameters that start to jumble together similar to how post S7 fics were when we were all sweet summer children writing about how Jon and Daenerys having Boatsex and arriving at Winterfell together and growing together with the R+L=J revelation. Obviously season 8 has changed the tone of most stories, most for the darker which I don’t mind since ASoIaF is a pretty grim world and for a long time Jon and Daenerys were rays of light and hope.

Getting to the crux of it all shipping and relationship tags and the gender politics of it all. I as a male writer ship Jon and Daenerys together for many reasons with their similar journeys and experiences along with the whole Targaryen incest thing being hot. Though I do plan on writing them being with other people and enjoy reading stories like that as well. Obviously as a man it is easier to write in the perspective of Jon Snow, and when he comes in contact with a woman and character as amazing as Daenerys it’s easy to write him as a loyal, dutiful lover that is in complete admiration of her as he has never quite met someone that comes close to her. Where the problem lies is that for a time this was what Jon was always portrayed as and believed to be after watching season 7 before his world came crashing down around him with his parentage reveal and with some OOC behavior by many people the relationship deteriorated which resulted in Jon killing someone we are supposed to believe he loves.

Was he justified in killing her? Sure. I myself don’t really care for fictional nameless peasants and I also don’t mind rooting for someone that is capable of mass murder in a fictional world such as Game of Thrones. As many of the fics are show based, we were left with feeling that Daenerys in the end died alone as she had felt from the beginning of the story, as she had longed for a home and for people to love her it was a tough pill to swallow to see everyone in the end reject her, betray her and abandon her after her great sacrifices in the Great War (I’m looking at you Tyrion, Sansa, Arya etc.) So the knee jerk reaction especially if you’re a woman that is a staunch Daenerys fan is you write a fanfic where she has the love and loyalty of people and she doesn’t get murdered by someone she loves but should it be at the cost of Jon’s mental health or in some cases his fertility. The first fanfic I wrote was a knee jerk reactions as my hate for the Starks and Tyrion came to a boiling point so I had Jon and Daenerys give everybody that betrayed them Fire and Blood because again I don’t mind dark versions of these characters so long as they embrace it together.

I just think if you’re a Jonerys shipper foremost that, having one of the partners in the relationship suffer to the extent that some of these fics have portrayed doesn’t do the ship justice. You can write all the angst, pining, love triangle, or jealousy that you choose to write but as an author does it make sense narratively, my problem with Post S8 fics is nothing made sense in season 8 so to accept that story that was told and add to it causes too much complications.

Something else I wanted to address though it is not Jonerys persay but the shipping with other characters, as I am a consumer of smut as most of us are I found out a while ago I’m just a fan of good smut and not necessarily a shipper first and foremost. There’s been talk of misogyny if Dany has sex with other men in stories. I can only speak from my perspective is that I genuinely don’t read stories of her with other men outside of Jon Snow and it’s not because I hate women. I find one Khal Drogo to be a rapist, though Jason Mamoa’s portrayal of the character made him likable to many people I just think of him and her interactions with the Dothraki in general as a stepping stone for Daenerys to become a stronger character, then there’s Daario he’s mostly been used to make Jon jealous or he is like one of the only named living characters in the end of S8 and can be a loyal sellsword that Daenerys needs but I think it’s pretty clear that he doesn’t really care for her he just loves the idea that he’s banging a Queen much like show Euron. I find him to be beneath Daenerys but many women find the actor who plays him attractive so it makes for good smut I guess. Outside of those two we’re getting into alternate universe territory and I find that many of the male characters noble or not don’t make much sense narratively speaking or they aren’t on her level. Keeping in mind most people are show only Jaime has the whole Cersei thing going, Loras is gay, as is Renly. Stannis or Robert like c’mon now and I’m sure we wouldn’t want to subject her to the likes of Joffrey and Ramsay either. Robb Stark is like the only reasonable one but then again he’s Jon’s brother/cousin so that complicates things but that makes for good angst for people. Willas, Garlan, Quentyn, Sam it’s really slim pickings as far as eligible bachelors that people care about if you choose to ship her with someone else narratively. fAegon or actual Aegon (Elia’s son) can work but I’ve read a couple of those and it was strictly smut. In contrast to Jon’s harem fics or fics with him being involved with other women it’s mostly for the sake of smut and don’t involve Dany pining or waiting for him or she’s even involved in the harem and has given him permission to bed other women whether it’s cause her infertility or she is bisexual. There’s many different attractive highborn women such as Arianne, Margaery, Ashara, Cersei, Roslin that people like to read having sex and depending on how depraved you are Lyanna, Elia, Sansa, Arya not to mention lowborn/bastards/wildings such as Val, Ygritte, Sand Snakes are also options. Harem fics are crackfics as there is no narrative sense to them, as they are strictly for pleasure.

At the end of the day you’ll read whatever floats your boat, I firmly believe in don’t like, don’t read. I look at the tags and summary and gauge if I’d like the story or not, I don’t really have time to disparage people for narrative choices in their comments cause nothing I say will stop them from telling a story that they want to tell.


End file.
